TORY BAGGIANO
Tory Baggiano had always said that he wanted to retire from
competitive water skiing while he was still on top. It would
seem that he would be taking a serious risk of failing to do so
when he had a competitive career of some two decades including
competition in five World Championships. Nevertheless, when he
announced his retirement in 1998, he was, in fact, still at the
top among a highly competitive group of trick skiing specialists.
In the World Championships Tory took home two medals in
tricks: a bronze in 1987 and the coveted gold in 1993. He set
World records in 1990 and 1991, with his record in 1990 making
him the first skier to exceed 11,000 points. The year 1990
proved to be a high point in Tory’s career: a year in which he
also won his first U.S. Masters and the Pan American
Championships title while a member of the U.S. team. Also in
1990 Tory was honored by the United States Olympic Committee as
water skiing’s male athlete of the year.
I am pleased to announce the induction into the
International Hall of Fame of one of the finest trick skiers of
the 1980s and 1990s: Tory Baggiano.